Silver and gold-plated vahana in the Kumbheshvara Temple, Kumbakonam 10032391

Photograph of a silver and gold-plated vahana (coneyance) in the Kumbheshvara Temple at Kumbakonam, taken by Alexander Rea around 1892, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. Kumbakonam, in Tamil Nadu, was an important centre during the 9th to 13th centuries under the Chola dynasty. There are fifteen temples in the town dedicated both to Shiva and Vishnu. The Kumbeshvara Temple, built in the 17th century during the Nayaka period, is the largest Shaiva temple in Kumbakonam. The temple has a variety of silver conveyances (vahanas) used to transport the images of the deities during the festivals. This view shows a vehicle for carrying the temple deities, mounted on a wheeled platform, with an Indian figure posed beside the vehicle to indicate scale.